Nov 4,2016: We had a whole day tour at Mt. Fuji courtesy of Sunrise Tours.I was very excited as I have high hopes of finally seeing snow there this time (well,apart from going on top of the mountain,haha).It was a 3hr bus ride from our hotel at Shinjuku and along the way, our tour guide shared a couple of facts about Mt. Fuji-san as what the Japanese calls it. A few facts that I could remember was that the mountain is surrounded by 5 lakes which you could see along the road.Another would be the fact that the mountain is also filled with Shinto shrines having this as the main religion in Japan. Hence,many would believe that climbing up there is a sign of good fortune. :) Moving on, we reached the 5th station at around 11am and the weather was lovely--sunny yet cold at zero degrees celsius!
I'm so happy that this was another bucketlist check for me ❤️ Although,it wasn't really snowing yet but you have to wear your coats!I was even wearing another bubble jacket underneath that.Haha :))
And here are the souvenir shops.We were given a good luck charm inside which is somewhat a sign of gratitude of the villagers there.Most of the souvenirs being sold are handcrafted and of course,shaped like the mountain itself.Just like in Tokyo Tower, many of it sells biscuits, cakes and crackers.
After that, we had a Japanese lunch buffet at a ninja-themed park called Oshino-Mura.The place was so stunning and serene, they even called this as a training ground for ninjas. Likewise, the shop here sells ninja souvenirs from bandanas to samurai sword decorations. I couldn't take a lot of pictures inside though.
So here's our ninja-styled bento consisting green tea,sukiyaki,yakisoba and fresh fruits with strawberry mochi.yumm!❤️
Then our next stop was at Benifuji no Yu which is located near lake Yamanaka.It was my first time to go in an onsen/hot spring and it was very refreshing!I haven't tried the sauna at all since the open-air bath is relaxing enough already.It is recommended to bring your own towels unless you want to rent there with a fee.Aside from the hot springs, the place also has free refreshments of green tea and you could sit or lie down in one of their futons or Japanese sleeping mats.Truly,this one's a must-try!
Finally,the last stop of our day tour was at Gotemba Premium Outlets,the largest outlet in Japan.Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take pictures anymore because it was already getting dark when we reached there :( But the place reminds me of London's Bicester Village wherein the shops are placed like town homes.As part of the tour, they gave us discount stubs to a list of brands and there I bought my bag from Samantha & Choeutte❤️
Pikachu was bought at Pokemon Store by the way.Haha :)) and here's where I bought it wherein Pikachu was dressed in all sorts of costumes.I gotta say it is still pricey even if you have a 15% discount from the tour stubs.
Thank you once again to Sunrise Tours for catering our Fuji tour.For more of their tour packages in Japan,you may visit www.jtb-sunrisetours.jp
Another city that we visited in Tokyo was Shibuya which felt like the Times Square of the country ❤️
This was pretty much one of the liveliest intersection that I've ever seen.Haha!There are shops all around and I don't think you could go through them all in just one day!
Besides Shibuya,we also went to one of the pop culture streets in town called Takeshita Dori
The street was a long stretch of fashionable girl shops let it be clothes, shoes or accessories.I believe they also change their prices any time of the day so yes,do watch out for a sale! ;)
Don't leave Japan if you haven't tasted their delicious crepe!This one is from Santa Monica which is all around Takeshita Street.There are a lot of good flavors to choose,but I prefer to have a strawberry tiramisu crepe that time.❤️
And I guess that's it for my first trip in Tokyo---I swear I'm coming back for more train-hopping adventures!
